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November 3 2018 by cranbak in MMA |Comments Off on Report: Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum targeted for UFC 234 in Australia

If Kelvin Gastelum plans on taking the UFC middleweight title from current champ Robert Whittaker, he’s going to have a very long flight to deal with first.

According to a report from ESPN.com, UFC officials are currently targeted a pay-per-view event on Feb. 10 in Melbourne, Australia, to host the title fight.

“We’ll announce that when it’s time,” UFC President Dana White told ESPN. “It’ll be in Australia.”

Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Gastelum (15-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) recently served as opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 28,” which is currently airing in weekly installments on FS1.

Champ Whittaker currently sits at No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings. Gastelum checks in at No. 6, though he earned a shot at the belt with recent back-to-back wins over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Michael Bisping.

Meanwhile, Whittaker hopes to defend his title in his adopted home country of Australia. Born in New Zealand, Whittaker now lives and trains in Australia. He returns to action for the first time since a June win over Yoel Romero. A hand injury forced Whittaker to the sidelines in the interim.